The Uganda Lacrosse Association (ULA) has become the first National Governing Body from the continent of Africa to be recognised as a World Lacrosse (WL) Full Member, in a move that indicates the huge growth in lacrosse across the world.

The ULA first became an Associate Member of WL nine years ago in 2011 and, by unanimous vote of the WL Board of Directors, is now being elevated to Full Member status.

As a Full Member, the ULA will have a voting delegate eligible to participate in the annual World Lacrosse General Assembly.

In addition, national teams representing Uganda will be eligible to advance to the championship bracket and win medals in all WL World Championship events.

After the announcement, WL President, Sue Redfern, said:

“Sport has the power to transform lives, and that is exactly what we see happening in Uganda through the important work and progress of the ULA.”

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone in the growth of our game, but there is considerable work that still must be done in order to make certain lacrosse is available to any young person, anywhere in the world, who wishes to participate.”

The recommendation to elevate the ULA to Full Member status was made by the WL Development Committee, “based upon the tremendous progress being made to expand opportunities for participation in the sport in Uganda”.

The ULA joins Puerto Rico Lacrosse and the Hungarian Lacrosse Association as members of WL that have been elevated to Full Member status in the past year, taking the total of WL member-National Governing Bodies to 68 worldwide.

Read the full WL statement HERE and we wish the ULA all the best as we welcome them as a WL Full Member!